Growing Pains
by BirdsInMating
Summary: It was well known that there was no such thing as fun at one of these camps. Riku turned around and picked up his pack. Following the group from the caboose he continued the hike deeper into temporary hell. Riku/Kairi eventually.
1. Welcome to CYO

Notes: I do not own KH in any way shape or form and the plot in this story does not have anything to do with the game.

Enjoy.

It was that time of summer when people began anticipating the end of it. Normally people would start remembering all the things they never did during their summer, sit and fret about it for a few days and ruin the rest of the vacation. It happened every year and still people spent their whole summers sitting on their butts rolling their eyes back into their heads.

But for Riku that was an entirely different concept. His summer was being spent in the worst way possible. The kind of thing you didn't even like to think about during a time of relaxing. The poor teenager was away at a summer camp for young offenders. It was a wonderful way for the government to get even more money from the taxpayers and in return a few hundred little criminals wound up in the same park for 2 months creating more havoc than they probably would away at home.

Let's start off with why this poor unfortunate soul arrived at the CYO.

Riku was born into a family of poverty. His father was not there for his birth and doesn't regret not being able to see the "miracle of birth" which could only be the most gruesome thing to ever observe in your lifetime. "I'd rather stick my hand up my ass." He would say to his son. Riku often pondered if that's what his father was actually doing during the time of his birth.

At the age of 8 Riku was baptized but for all the wrong reasons. He was a hellion of a child and the church was his mother's escape. She would drag him there by the ear and force the child to confess all his wrong doings, which she knew all about before hand. After a while though the pressure wore off and soon she let Riku decide whether or not he would be attending church with his mother. One hundred percent of the time Riku said no. His mother blamed his terrible attitude on his not showing up to church and left it at that.

When Riku finally entered high school he had grown into more of a man than a boy. He almost entirely skipped the boy – stage and jumped right to manhood. He was the rebel without a cause, the one all the girls wanted. But he never wanted them. Of course Riku was a normal man with normal urges and had the occasional one – night – stand. Usually after a night of heavy drinking or drugs. He had been in and out of juvenile hall his entire life. And finally one petty B&E crime pushed it all over the edge. He was sent to the summer camp for young offenders. And Riku did not like it one bit, and everyone there was going to know about it.

About half way across the country there was another poor unfortunate soul heading to the same camp. But this one was leaving not to be a camper but to be a counselor. It was something she wasn't looking forward to but knew it would look good on her resume.

Kairi was born into a wealthy family. She was loved by her parents her whole life. Academics and sports were a large part of her life. She rode horses when she was young and soon became a major competitor in jumping. She was given the best education possible in some of the best private elementary, junior high and high schools. Kairi was the child every parent wished they could have.

Although being raised in a family with good values and morals, her parents disagreed with her decision to work at CYO. They claimed the atmosphere would be enough to repel her away and send her back home. But Kairi wanted nothing more than to prove to her parents that she wasn't the fragile little doll she once was. Her bags were packed, her expenses were paid. All that was left was a plane ride to a new life.

Soon enough at the camp buses began arriving unloading batches of kids by the minute. Boys from all ages stood around. Some looked confused and scared while others were confident and loud. Some knew each other and instantly began thinking up ways to get out of the place. Riku got off his bus and gave the area a quick scan. Out – houses, no sign of permanent plumbing, shady looking bunkhouses and a lake that an ostrich could have floated on safely.

"Terrific." Riku hoisted his bag over his shoulder and followed the crown inside the camp. Once inside they were instructed to sit down and listen to a couple rules. Only a couple, they assured a groaning crowd.

"First things first, no hitting, no spitting, no disrespecting anything or anyone, no rude comments or gestures. Listen to the authority figure or there will be consequences and most importantly, have a good time here at CYO!" a chubby camp leader came to the climax of his speech and threw his hands in the air. A few coughs were heard and the talking resumed.

Kairi stood with the camp counselors and surveyed the crown of boys they had to control for the next two months. She took a deep breath and looked at her list of campers. None seemed to be too old, around 14-17. There were a few 18 year olds, probably crimes thought better punished here than in a harsh prison.

"Please locate your camp counselor that is holding the group of letters that refer to your family names." The man shouted again, waving his arms towards the counselors holding up signs. Kairi nervously lifted her sign above her head and waited for her first few campers to shuffle in.

Riku took a look around and spotted his letter grouping. He let his eyes lower a little and noticed the small girl holding the sign. She had medium length brown hair and had on jeans with the camp T-shirt. He advanced towards the group. It was basically composed of young kids who looked like death was a better alternative than the dreaded summer camp. He took a look around at all the other groups. The camp counselors looked too happy to be there. Riku then took a look at his own counselor.

Prep was the only word he could come up with in the few seconds he judged the small girl. She didn't look like she belonged here though. All the other camp counselors were much bigger and mean looking. This one was petite and fragile. Riku looked her up and down and smirked. Perhaps he could have some fun with this one.

Kairi shifted her weight from one foot to the other. One of the stares that one of the campers was giving her was unnerving. She forced herself to look away and straight ahead and she concentrated harder on holding the sign above her head. There were no more kids to group up. Everyone was with his or her designated counselor. Kairi held her sign down.

"Ok campers. Tonight is just an orientation night. Your counselors will guide you around, show you the ropes and then the fun can begin!" The overzealous camp leader shouted into his megaphone. There was an audible groan at the word fun. It was all too known that there was no such thing as fun at one of these camps. Riku turned around and picked up his pack. Following the group from the caboose he continued his hike deeper into his temporary hell.

Notes: This is my first story in a while. Any kind of writing tips are welcome, sorry if the grammar isn't all there.


	2. Unpleasant Afternoon

At 7:00AM Riku was awoken by a sharp pain in his side. It pulsed for a minute and then subsided. He opened his eyes to see a broomstick poking up beside the bed. He saw no one standing there.

"Wakey, wakey!"

Riku instantly fell back on the bed, rolling over grumbling in annoyance. What was so important at this stupid camp that he needed to be up at 7:00AM for? The camp didn't look like much and probably the government didn't put too much money in it either to make it comfortable for some juvenile delinquents. He decided surviving this camp might be a slight difficulty.

The breakfast hall was crammed with people. It seemed like Riku was the last soul to enter the building as virtually every seat was taken and only a few people were in the line to get food.

Might as well go and see what's left. Riku started off for the line. Just as he was arriving to the food, the doors burst open loudly causing the room to go silent.

"Breakfast is over! Time to do bed check. To your cabins now!" the chubby guy didn't seem so jolly anymore as he frowned at everyone in the hall. Riku frowned back. He went to grab a spoonful of eggs when a spatula swatted his hand. The shocked boy looked up to see an angry lunch lady. She had dark brown hair tucked away with no care what so ever into her fishnet hairnet. Her hands were on her hips, ready to strike again.

"Alright, fine." Riku dropped his tray noisily on the ground and left.

Back at the cabins everyone was instructed to stand by their respective bunks. Riku stood leaning against the wall. Soon enough someone walked in. They were light footsteps, almost cautious. Riku craned his head over to see the mystery person.

"Ok campers, we're doing a routine bed check. Expect one every single morning. Your bed sheets should be pulled tight and tucked under the mattress, same with your comforter. Pillowcases are to be smoothed out and placed neatly at the end of the bed."

Kairi said this in a less authority tone and in more kindergarten teacher tone. The boys in the room then turned to each other and resumed talking. Obviously they all sensed the timidity in her voice and could tell she would be easy to control. She looked nervously around the room and tried once again to get their attention but to no avail.

Riku stood there watching her and the campers around him. Something about her standing there helpless in a desperate effort to take charge interested Riku. Why was she doing this job? She wasn't your typical boot camp instructor.

"E-excuse me. Everyone…" Kairi attempted once more but nothing was going to work. Riku looked around again and still the same behavior. If they were going to get out of here they were all going to have to shut up sooner or later. He pushed himself off the wall and walked towards Kairi. She saw him and her shoulders rose a little bit while her arms stayed close to her sides. Riku held up a hand as if to say, "Hold on". A few seconds passed.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LISTEN!"

Soon enough all heads turned to Riku, quite as ever. Kairi shot him a look and averted her eyes quickly after.

"Thank you" came the mumbled reply. Riku smirked and returned to his wall.

As the young girl walked around and examined the beds Riku watched her intently still.

"What's with you man? You got a crush on the counselor or something?" a young boy whispered next to him. He was a chubbier kid, and looked more like he belonged in the Wizard of Oz rather at CYO.

Riku ignored the annoying child and continued watching the girl. There was something about her that made him curious, although he couldn't quite place it. Her body language was different, her face and voice were innocent but wise.

Riku quickly stopped thinking. Those thoughts weren't normal. She was definitely not his type of girl.

Soon enough Kairi had made the round towards Riku's bed. She stood beside the bunk about a foot away from were he was standing. She stood on her tiptoes to see the top bunk. The covers were tight and the pillow was in correct order. She made a small scribble on her clipboard and quickly went to the next few beds.

There wasn't a single cloud in the entire sky that day. The sun had the whole stage to him and did as he pleased. And that was creating the worst form of environment for the boys at CYO. The heat felt like it came at you in waves, never really giving you a chance to recover from the last.

Riku had been assigned to a few minor construction jobs. It was his background with construction that allowed him one of the lesser tedious jobs. He was up on the roof of a new cabin, passing packs of shingles up. And were they ever heavy!

"For fucks sakes I'm gonna pass out if I don't get a break here."

The other construction boys shot glares at Riku. He was new to this job and hadn't already fought his way up to the top. One of the boys pointed a finger at him.

"Shut the hell up and do your fucking job. We all have to sit here under the same god damned sun so you can stop your whining."

Riku looked over at the boy who dared open his mouth. He stood up and took a few carefully placed steps towards the boy who stood up quickly as well, fists balled up at his sides. Riku smirked and made a sudden fake lunge to the boy. Startled, he lost his footing and began falling to the edge of the roof.

Riku laughed and watched as the boy attempted to land on his feet on the ground but lost it and ate dirt. Unfortunately, probably from the lack of food or water, Riku's vision began blurring and the boy fell the way gravity wants us to, right on his side in a bush by a few windows.

A few heads peeked over the edge of the roof and then soon disappeared. They went back to work, knowing better than to be caught doing nothing on the job.

Note: That's then end of that chapter. Hope it was Ok. Feedback welcome!


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